Beautiful Book of the Month: May

The Rime of the Modern Mariner By Nick Hayes

Published April 2011
ISBN:  9780224090254
Format: Hardback
Jonathan Cape
www.capegraphicnovels.co.uk


I know I'm late again writing my Beautiful Book of the Month article, about 4 months late to be precise, but I promise you I picked an absolute beauty for this long overdue post.

Over the years I have amassed an admirable assortment of enticing literary tomes, but even among the two bookcases designated to house my most beloved books there are a few titles that still manage to shine a little bit brighter than the rest in my eyes. My favourites among my favourites. While my shelves have seen many new additions and have undergone many bouts of shuffling, Nick Haye's The Rime of the Modern Mariner has always held its lofty position; clearly visible and easily accessible, and in my overflowing library that is the highest possible honour I can bestow upon any book.

It’s rare today to come across something so remarkably well crafted. The illustrated matte cover is combined with a luxurious wrap around cloth spine and polished off with elaborately etched silver lettering. The addition of the quirky “handwritten” typeface and whimsical wave patterned end pages add to the character of this charming illustrated novel.


Hayes uses a limited colour palette for his illustrations, sticking only to subtle hue variations of pastel blue and black. It is truly amazing to see how much detail and depth can be achieved using so few colours. I think also by restricting the range of shades, it gives the piece a sense of uniformity and forces the viewer to pay closer attention to how the images interact on the page with one another.

Each page is laid out with impeccable precision, creating a visual language all of its own that flows naturally and fluidly from page to page, mirroring the natural rhythm that emerges from the poem’s rhyme. No two pages are arranged in quite the same way.

But beneath this stunning visual feast, there lurks a compelling and haunting moral fable. This beautiful graphic novel reinvents Samuel Taylor Coleridge's longest and arguably his most famous poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. First published in 1798, the original tale relates the experiences of a weary sailor who has returned from a long sea voyage. He stops a man who is on the way to a wedding ceremony and begins to weave a harrowing story of sin and reparation spurred by the senseless killing of an albatross.

It’s a tremendous challenge to rework a classic, especially since the work will inevitably be compared to its reference material no matter how drastically altered or original it may be. Nick Hayes takes on the enormous task of constructing his own original verse for his narrative tale and has created something that is not only lyrically melodic, but visually striking.

The Rime of the Modern Mariner is a cautionary tale of environmental disaster created by humankind’s excessive consumption and our indifference to the consequences on the world around us. By updating the synopsis of the story, Hayes devises something that is more accessible than the original; more relevant to our time and in a way, conveys a stronger message that grows more necessary to impart with each passing year.  

There are several clever twists made to the initial tale. Hayes modernises Coleridge's wedding guest, a bright young man inexplicably transfixed by the sailor’s every word, into a jaded divorced office-worker who listens half-heartedly to the tale to pass time on his lunch break. Instead of imparting a sense of a hard lesson won, learned and imparted to a new generation, Hayes protagonist is left astonished and sitting alone as the city dweller declares the tale as an amusing “nursery rhyme” and goes back to his life with an untainted conscience. While it is a down hearted ending, it does ask the viewer the uncomfortable question of how much the novel has affected them. Will they too go back to their previous wasteful ways? Or perceive the world in a new light and make some amends for their past negligence?  

The Rime of the Modern Mariner is a provocative piece of work that proves that literary graphic novels can impress, inflame and inspire people just as well as their unillustrated counterparts.

I admire Random House and Jonathan Cape’s commendable attention to detail in the design of this visual novel. They’re one of my favourite publishers, not only because of their continued support for indie comic artists, but also for the exceptional quality and respectful care they put into creating suitable formats tailored for each unique art style and story.
Last year, I reviewed another graphic novel, Building Stories by Chris Ware (also published by Jonathan Cape) and I found myself continuously impressed with the production quality. I was surprised that such a gorgeous product was printed by a large publisher since it seemed like such an indulgent risk to produce. I honestly believe that there aren't many publishers willing to undertake such a tremendous task to create a book that not only does justice to the artwork found inside its pages, but can be considered a piece of art itself.